I have attended enough autocrosses to say that for the most part an NA Miata can keep up with the newest and greatest Miatas.
I am by no means a Miata fanboy, I have ridden in one once. Just my observations saying that those NAs are really quite good.

Mine :) The greenhouse visibility is amazing.

My BMW e36 rotary valve still is the definition of super cool, but I can’t wait until I get enough bugs worked out of it that I can drive it 6 miles without breaking down. It was an amazing 328is in stock form, currently it is an unreliable hunk of car that can drive under it’s own power for a few minutes. It is worth…

A GTV 6 is the one Alfa I want to own before I die. They are so heart achingly beautiful. I could also live with a Montreal but they are rare and crazy expensive.

The PA Turnpike recently upped the speed limit from 65 to 70 mph. I was plesently surprised to see the last time I was on the road that people were in general doing between 68 and 72 mph. The PA Turnpike is also an exceptionally twisty road for a highway, there were turns that I was not comfortable going the speed…

$20,000 buys me a very minty BMW e36 M3 coupe with 3 pedals and one of the best I6 engines every put into a production car. It also looks 10 times better than an 86 or a 2 series.

This is one of the many reasons why 5 out of the 6 cars in my house hold are over 15 years old, they are just so intuitively designed. Granted one is so old that it doesn’t even have self canceling turn signals. It is refreshing to drive because it makes you realize just how little in a modern car is actually…

You know, until you called it a cross over, this vehicle didn’t make any sense to me. Now that I realize that it is really a cross over, it makes perfect sense. Mini is trying to capitalize on the fastest growing market in the automobile world and what better way than to to bring their cutesy sporty character into it.

This isn’t even a new thing from them. The e39 M5 didn’t come with a spare because the exhaust system was too large. The mufflers cut into the spare wheel well.

Snakes are one reason why I have no interest what so ever living in the south. I am perfectly happy in NW Pennsylvania where I see a snake maybe once every 3 years.

The 3.6 in the current ATS is an absolute gem of an engine. It makes some spine tingling sounds and has just the right amount of power to match the beautiful chassis. I have a friend with one and it straight up reminds me of driving an e36 3 series, (that is the highest praise you can get from me).

288 hp is roughly what a BMW e38 740 has. That isn’t a particuarlly slow car. I would imagine in the slightly lighter 3900 lb chassis with a few extra gears the Buick will be plenty quick for what it is.

Once in a while I miss my e39 M5. It is the only car I have sold in my 8 years of driving.

I am literally a week away from doing this myself. I am setting up an appointment to get my rotary valve e36 project state inspected as I think it is in a good enough state to drive it to the inspection place and then back home. Once it is inspected it is road legal then I can start driving it on my 8 mile round trip…

It really astounds me how may people are afraid to take these old British cars beyond 55 mph or so. I have many times taken my 62 AH Sprite up on the highway with no issues. 56hp is plenty to keep up with traffic, it will comfortably cruise at 70 mph where. With the stock 4 speed it is probably ticking over around…

I am a fellow British car owner with an MkII Sprite. Most things stated in this article resonate with me well. The simplicity of working on old British is great. It might be slow by today’s standards but the feeling of speed is greatly skewed and makes them amazing fun to drive. My only complaint is having to drive…

BMW e36 coupe.

That is quite a challenge. At highway speeds cruising, a car is using 10 to 15 hp, a semi truck pulling a loaded trailer is using 200hp. That is a big difference in energy.

Having pulled a lot of stumps before, usually one runs out of traction way before running out of power so a lower gear wont help. Unless you are on a tracked piece of equipment.

My 99 Oldsmobile 88 has this. In a pinch we use it to seat 6 people legaly in that car.